BioWare announcesMass Effect 3: Extended Cut, a free DLC pack for Mass Effect 3 they hope will address widespread unhappiness with the conclusion of the action/RPG sequel. Here's word on the free DLC, which does not yet carry a release date:

BioWare, a Label of Electronic Arts Inc. announced Mass Effect™ 3: Extended Cut, a downloadable content pack that will expand upon the events at the end of the critically acclaimed Action RPG. Through additional cinematic sequences and epilogue scenes, the Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut will give fans seeking further clarity to the ending of Mass Effect 3 deeper insights into how their personal journey concludes. Coming this summer, the Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut will be available for download on the Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and PC for no extra charge*.

“We have reprioritized our post-launch development efforts to provide the fans who want more closure with even more context and clarity to the ending of the game, in a way that will feel more personalized for each player.” “We are all incredibly proud of Mass Effect 3 and the work done by Casey Hudson and team,” said Dr. Ray Muzyka, Co-Founder of BioWare and General Manager of EA’s BioWare Label. “Since launch, we have had time to listen to the feedback from our most passionate fans and we are responding. With the Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut we think we have struck a good balance in delivering the answers players are looking for while maintaining the team’s artistic vision for the end of this story arc in the Mass Effect universe.”

Casey Hudson, Executive Producer of the Mass Effect series added, “We have reprioritized our post-launch development efforts to provide the fans who want more closure with even more context and clarity to the ending of the game, in a way that will feel more personalized for each player.”

Bhruic wrote on Apr 10, 2012, 15:35:Found a nice video that does a good job of showing what's wrong with the ME3 ending beyond the obvious. It's a bit lengthy, but really gets to the heart of the matter.

Seen that one! It's good. I like it how the guy sees that the worst of the entire ending (among basically about a zillion other things) is the breaking of narrative coherence.

Imagine Jack Bauer stepping into the scene with Luke and Vader fighting. He shoots a bullet through Vader's lightsaber, destroying it, and then he shoots Vader in the knee. Vader then tried to do a Force Grip on Jack, but Jack ignores it saying "You master the Force. I master the Physics!" and with it he puts a bullet between Vader's eyes. The end.

The breaking of narrative coherence is no art; no clever writing. In fact, it's downright wrong and bad and, worst of all, it can collapse an entire fictional world to hell -- which is clearly what happened to the ME universe for many if not most fans.

Even if you put aside the space magic, if you put aside the lack of choice, the lack of your actions influencing the ending, the lack of your squad-mates, the insane repercussions of the 3 choices, wherever the hell the Normandy went to, on a pure storytelling level the ending is bullshit.

Over the course of 3 games you have your primary antagonists. You see them in the first mission of the first game (Sovereign over Eden Prime). Saren, the Geth, the Collectors are all just agents of theirs. The goal of the entire series is to stop the Reapers. In the last 10 minutes of the series they:

-introduce a new character/enemy that supersedes the reapers in importance

-introduce a new existential conflict (synthetics wiping out organics) that supersedes the old conflict, despite the fact that you had just resolved the issues with the synthetics

-change Shepards personality. Shepard doesn't work with genocidal AI child things. At best they would argue the Bieberbot down to a better position, at worst they'd nuke the site from orbit (only way to be sure).

Seriously, who does that? Look at other great sci-fi and fantasy series and input those changes, they all look crazy with it.

And no I don't accept the Indoctrination theory, regardless of how awesome Marauder Shields is.

If you think about it, Bioware has kinda screwed themselves too. We know Mass Effect 4 will happen, minus Shepard. If it takes place after 3 you will have a game where you have to account for the fact that people might be normal or creepy synthetic hybrids. I read an article where they regretted having the option in ME2 to let your entire team die as it made the story hooks troublesome for 3. Now imagine a game where the nature of life itself is in question. Oops!

- Why is there a beam taking the player to the most vulnerable point in the citadel?

- Why are so few forces guarding the actual beam?

- Why doesn't Harbinger murder everyone when it has the chance? Where does it magically disappear to afterward?

- Why doesn't Coates see Anderson and Shepard?

- Where does the rest of your team disappear to when this happens?

- Why is the room in the Citadel unguarded?

- How does Anderson reach the control room before Shepard? There is literally only a single path into the room.

- How are Shepard and Anderson being controlled when this ability is previously unseen without months of indoctrination or at least biotics?

- How does Joker magically teleport the Normandy to a mass relay?

I could go on but the point is that the ending has major holes and problems. "I think the ending is fine because its an ending" isn't really an answer either. It poorly incorporates all previous player choice and railroads you into a single rushed and poorly edited sequence. In fact most of the choices you make in the game itself don't even matter, it's all about your arbitrary EMS. Many of the player choices are only acknowledged in a single line and quite a few don't even appear in the cutscenes. It's a shame because the game was otherwise fantastic.

It's bad, isn't it?

The internal inconsistencies are staggering! The Extended Cut announcement left me cold. I would like to see BioWare try bringing the science back to the fiction, after that clusterfuck of an ending. I'd also like to see them try bringing closure. What, will they show Tali choking in her own vomit as she's dying in extreme agony from the infections of trying to eat the unsterilized food from a planet that probably isn't dextro-based? Or will we see Liara make blue babies with Garrus in an attempt to populate that planet? HOW can BioWare possibly add to the abysmal nightmare that is this narrative coherence breaking hellhole of an ending!?

Funny enough, the only way they could've justified the internal inconsistencies of the universe they created, was through the use of the Indoctrination Theory.

Mark my words: The EC will only piss most people off even more. And rightly so.

Bioware isn't the company they used to be. If you've seen the hubris, arrogance and condescending behaviour displayed by their PAX panel... you can only agree with that statement, I think.

- Why is there a beam taking the player to the most vulnerable point in the citadel?

- Why are so few forces guarding the actual beam?

- Why doesn't Harbinger murder everyone when it has the chance? Where does it magically disappear to afterward?

- Why doesn't Coates see Anderson and Shepard?

- Where does the rest of your team disappear to when this happens?

- Why is the room in the Citadel unguarded?

- How does Anderson reach the control room before Shepard? There is literally only a single path into the room.

- How are Shepard and Anderson being controlled when this ability is previously unseen without months of indoctrination or at least biotics?

- How does Joker magically teleport the Normandy to a mass relay?

I could go on but the point is that the ending has major holes and problems. "I think the ending is fine because its an ending" isn't really an answer either. It poorly incorporates all previous player choice and railroads you into a single rushed and poorly edited sequence. In fact most of the choices you make in the game itself don't even matter, it's all about your arbitrary EMS. Many of the player choices are only acknowledged in a single line and quite a few don't even appear in the cutscenes. It's a shame because the game was otherwise fantastic.

Creston wrote on Apr 7, 2012, 01:30:The Indoctrination theory works great, up to one particularly fatal point. The IC keeps saying that the Reapers are trying to indoctrinate you to choose Blue or Green, rather than Red.

However, if you bring very few War Assets, the only thing you CAN choose is Red. And why would the Reapers indoctrinate you, only to then give you the one choice that they're desperately trying to make you not do.

For that matter, why would they give you the Red choice ever at all?

Sadly, for all how much it seems to work (and is better than the ending), it doesn't completely fit. (which makes sense, because it's simply not true.)

Creston

Having Red available at all is easily explained as an important part of the illusion, as Shepard would, presumably, be more likely to call bullshit if he made it that far only to find there was no way at all to kill them.

Low EMS actually doesn't automatically translate to read, it's part of an ME2 flag. If you're that low and destroyed the Collector base, the Catalyst assumes you want to destroy them and gives you red. If you saved the base, it assumes you want to control them and gives you blue. That being said, it doesn't matter. Like you said, if the theory were true this mechanic wouldn't happen at all, and like I said, it's a stunningly in-depth case of something more interesting than the intent happening by complete accident.

Nucas wrote on Apr 6, 2012, 21:37:i'm suprised they gave in, but gratified.

the endgame was the most important ten minutes of anything they've done in the past 5 years, and they choked.

they failed so utterly that the only way a large subset of fans can reconcile what they saw is with an idiotic and convoluted "theory" that turns the endgame into an unreliable-narrator-driven metaphore.

i hope casey hudson isn't feeling smugly superior about how no one "gets" his vacuous nerdgasm ending. god, what a fucker.

They didn't give in. Fact is, they already admitted they aren't actually changing anything. They are merely expanding upon the existing ending to show you exactly what happened to your squadmates so that you'll have "closure." And the only reason they're even doing this much is so that Bioware can pretend they're listening, and so that this whole debacle doesn't hurt the sales of the DLC that was already planned.

As far as Casey Hudson's "vacuous nerdgasm ending," any of us real nerds can see that none of it even makes sense. So he has no reason at all to feel superior to anyone, because if his intention was to appear smart, we now know how stupid he really is.

Creston wrote on Apr 7, 2012, 01:30:The Indoctrination theory works great, up to one particularly fatal point. The IC keeps saying that the Reapers are trying to indoctrinate you to choose Blue or Green, rather than Red.

However, if you bring very few War Assets, the only thing you CAN choose is Red. And why would the Reapers indoctrinate you, only to then give you the one choice that they're desperately trying to make you not do.

For that matter, why would they give you the Red choice ever at all?

Sadly, for all how much it seems to work (and is better than the ending), it doesn't completely fit. (which makes sense, because it's simply not true.)

Creston

Thank you Creston. Good to see there's at least one other person out there that isn't lying to themselves to try and make sense of Bioware's bungled story.

The Indoctrination theory works great, up to one particularly fatal point. The IC keeps saying that the Reapers are trying to indoctrinate you to choose Blue or Green, rather than Red.

However, if you bring very few War Assets, the only thing you CAN choose is Red. And why would the Reapers indoctrinate you, only to then give you the one choice that they're desperately trying to make you not do.

For that matter, why would they give you the Red choice ever at all?

Sadly, for all how much it seems to work (and is better than the ending), it doesn't completely fit. (which makes sense, because it's simply not true.)

Dr. D. Schreber wrote on Apr 6, 2012, 21:56:I used to think it was an idiot fan theory like any other, but there's so much to use for it that it really is like they accidentally made something better and more interesting than what was intended.

ok, so the illusive man represents the indoctrinated part of your mind, up until you kill him. and then rather than that representing your victory in keeping with his theory, he changes the rules: now it's become a trick to make you think you've overcome the indoctrination.. which you aren't even consciously aware of anyway.. he also expertly handles the established fact that prothean VI's can detect indoctrination with "sure, but maybe they're just wrong a lot when you're around." he even digs for meaning in art asset re-use.

that whole video is bizarre cyclical self-justificaiton. he formulated a theory (no doubt because he was looking for it the whole time) and is now wrapping the reality of what happens around it to make it fit, spontaneously changing his own statements on the fly to keep it working. tedious.

Nucas wrote on Apr 6, 2012, 21:37:i'm suprised they gave in, but gratified.

the endgame was the most important ten minutes of anything they've done in the past 5 years, and they choked.

they failed so utterly that the only way a large subset of fans can reconcile what they saw is with an idiotic and convoluted "theory" that turns the endgame into an unreliable-narrator-driven metaphore.

i hope casey hudson isn't feeling smugly superior about how no one "gets" his vacuous nerdgasm ending. god, what a fucker.

I used to think it was an idiot fan theory like any other, but there's so much to use for it that it really is like they accidentally made something better and more interesting than what was intended. (Of course, it still leaves the problem of being a non-ending.)

the endgame was the most important ten minutes of anything they've done in the past 5 years, and they choked.

they failed so utterly that the only way a large subset of fans can reconcile what they saw is with an idiotic and convoluted "theory" that turns the endgame into an unreliable-narrator-driven metaphore.

i hope casey hudson isn't feeling smugly superior about how no one "gets" his vacuous nerdgasm ending. god, what a fucker.

Creston wrote on Apr 6, 2012, 15:17:I've got a pretty good outline so far, but to be honest, this lady seems to be doing a heckuva job of making an ending that takes your choices into account.

Nice find Creston. There, see Bioware, was that so hard? Just a few slides with text and it's a million times more emotionally satisfying and relevant to how I played the game than the stupid original ending.

The genophage and Quarian/Geth missions had lots of branches and took your previous choices into account. Some BAD stuff could happen based on what you'd done before. That is how the whole game should have been. Alas the egos of the head writers were just too big (if this is to be believed). And some rushing from EA probably didn't help any.

Creston wrote on Apr 6, 2012, 00:21:Yifes, I'll just agree to disagree with you. I've had this same argument about five hundred times on Bioware's forums the past few weeks, and neither party ever convinces the other one, so...

Again, I loved ME3. I thought it was quite possibly the best game I'd ever played, and then that utterly nonsensical ending happened, and it left quite a bad taste in my mouth.

I'm nowhere near the level of some folks where they say they'll never play any of the ME games again, but I do refuse to play the ending. I'll watch the Extended Cut when it comes out, and maybe it'll fix it, and more likely it'll just be more bullshit, in which case I'll just write an ending myself and consider that canon.

Creston

Let me know if you need an editor, I'll put my 1.5 decades of writing fanfiction to good use.

I've got a pretty good outline so far, but to be honest, this lady seems to be doing a heckuva job of making an ending that takes your choices into account.

Creston wrote on Apr 6, 2012, 00:21:Yifes, I'll just agree to disagree with you. I've had this same argument about five hundred times on Bioware's forums the past few weeks, and neither party ever convinces the other one, so...

Again, I loved ME3. I thought it was quite possibly the best game I'd ever played, and then that utterly nonsensical ending happened, and it left quite a bad taste in my mouth.

I'm nowhere near the level of some folks where they say they'll never play any of the ME games again, but I do refuse to play the ending. I'll watch the Extended Cut when it comes out, and maybe it'll fix it, and more likely it'll just be more bullshit, in which case I'll just write an ending myself and consider that canon.

Creston

Let me know if you need an editor, I'll put my 1.5 decades of writing fanfiction to good use.

You CAN do that actually. Shoot the little bastard in the face, then quit the game. I wonder what Mac Walters thinks when he sees hundreds of thousands of players playing the game right up to Marauder Shields (Never forget! He tried to save us!) and then quit.